Buying glasses & contacts online

I finally got a new eye prescription a few weeks ago (and I’m sad to say that I finally need bifocals), and decided to order both contacts and glasses online.  I’d done the former many times before, but was a little bit weary about the latter.  Whenever I’ve gotten glasses  I had to have them fitted.  But I figured I wear contacts all the time, and I only needed the glasses for emergencies, so how bad could it be?  The answer was “not too bad, but not that great either”.

I ordered the glasses from 39DollarGlasses.com because the glasses were cheap.  Frames + lenses start at $39 + $5 shipping, but with coupons I got my glasses for a total of $33.  Right now they’re running a $15 off promotion, so you can get a pair for as little as $29.  The glasses themselves arrived very quickly. I placed the order on a Saturday, and they were delivered early in the week, maybe even by Tuesday.  The frames themselves are clearly as cheap as they can be, they are not very flexible and I think they will break easily.  The prescription seems to be accurate, but I can’t really tell.  They do feel a little bit weird, but that may be because they are narrower than I was expecting so the frames are in my field of vision, that’s disconcerting and annoying.  Still, for a pair of glasses to wear very occasionally they’re OK.  I’d order from this company again, but next time I’d make sure to look for VERY BIG glasses 🙂
I ordered the contacts from AC Lens.  This company did not have the lowest prices, but some of the companies with lower prices weren’t well reviewed.  When you order from AC Lens, they order directly from the manufacturer who then ships to you. For that reason, the service is not as quick as it’d otherwise be.  I also ordered the contact lenses on a Saturday and they arrived the following Saturday.  I wasn’t able to use a coupon when I ordered, but they have them occasionally so check before you order.  The contact lenses I got were the ones I ordered, so I can’t comment on customer service.